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While a few pioneers have lived in the Downtown area for years and years, the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association started up around the time of the 1996 Olympics, when a critical mass of people first began to live into the area, settling into buildings like the William-Oliver, Muse’s, and Metropolitan. At first meetings were just informal get-together’s on Saturday mornings over at Starbucks, but after a couple of years, “Fairlie Godmother” Cooper Holland stepped up and became ADNA‘s first president.

Monthly meetings started up and as a new organization, we were lucky to find a lot of support coming in from Atlanta City Hall as well as location businesses and organizations willing to host our meetings or help up put on events like a Town Hall Meeting

Beginning in 2000, new president Erich Starrett and Vice President Wendy Darling started to push ADNA to greater and greater prominence, coordinating bigger and better monthly meetings, sending out news to the neighborhood, acting on local issues, and putting the group on track to become a real 501c3 non-profit.

The great turning point for ADNA came in spring 2002, when ADNA members stepped up to organize the first-ever Downtown Neighborhood Festival, which drew on the enthusiasm and skill of Downtowners and also contributed to ADNA’s first ever fundraiser. As a 501c3, we were able to set up bank accounts and thus have our own funds.

In 2009, we sponsored our first scavenger hunt challenging people around the city to learn more about our neighborhood.

We continue to have an active neighborhood with social and volunteer opportunities.